Friday, September 12, 2008

Morning Prayer Readings: 2 Sam 21:1-20; Matt 13:44-end

Old Testament Reading: 2nd Samuel 22:1-20

David's Song of Deliverance

22:1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said,

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,3 my[1] God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation,my stronghold and my refuge,my savior; you save me from violence.4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,and I am saved from my enemies.

5 “For the waves of death encompassed me,the torrents of destruction assailed me;[2]6 the cords of Sheol entangled me;the snares of death confronted me.

7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord;to my God I called.From his temple he heard my voice,and my cry came to his ears.

8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked;the foundations of the heavens trembledand quaked, because he was angry.9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,[3]and devouring fire from his mouth;glowing coals flamed forth from him.10 He bowed the heavens and came down;thick darkness was under his feet.11 He rode on a cherub and flew;he was seen on the wings of the wind.12 He made darkness around him his canopy,thick clouds, a gathering of water.13 Out of the brightness before himcoals of fire flamed forth.14 The Lord thundered from heaven,and the Most High uttered his voice.15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them;lightning, and routed them.16 Then the channels of the sea were seen;the foundations of the world were laid bare,at the rebuke of the Lord,at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17 “He sent from on high, he took me;he drew me out of many waters.18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,from those who hated me,for they were too mighty for me.19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,but the Lord was my support.20 He brought me out into a broad place;he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

New Testament Reading: Matthew 13:44-57

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.